Job openings were 7.5 million in September and quits rose to 3.4 million, BLS says

U.S. employers had 7.5 million job openings on the last business day of September, and 3.4 million workers quit during the month, the Bureau of Labor Statistics reported on November 3. Hires and total separations changed little, at 5.4 million and 5.3 million. On November 5, the Labor Department put first-time claims for unemployment benefits at 189,000 in the week ended October 31, down 6,000 from the week before.

BLS describes the September openings figure as "little changed," even though its estimate was 333,000 above August's, which had itself been revised up by 111,000. Compared with a year earlier, openings were up 354,000, and the openings rate was 4.5%, against 4.3% in September 2025.

One industry drove the rise in quits

BLS says the quits rate "can serve as a measure of workers' willingness or ability to leave jobs." Quits rose by 321,000 in September, and 197,000 of those were in accommodation and food services, the same industry where hires rose by 158,000. The quits rate in that industry went from 3.6% to 5.0%. Across the economy, BLS calls the rate little changed at 2.1%.

Over 12 months, quits were up by 375,000. Layoffs and discharges were 1.6 million in September, a rate of 1.0%, compared with 1.8 million and 1.1% a year earlier. BLS says that count changed little from August, whose figure it revised up by 127,000, to 1.8 million.

By region, the openings table shows the highest rate in the West, 4.8%, followed by the Midwest at 4.6%, the South at 4.4% and the Northeast at 4.3%. A year earlier the West had the lowest rate, 3.8%.

What it means for people looking for work and for paychecks

BLS counted 7.1 million unemployed people in September, with the jobless rate at 4.2%. Set against 7.5 million openings, that is a little under one unemployed person per opening, by our calculation, though the figure does not show whether jobs and job seekers match by place or occupation. Payroll employment changed little that month, with a gain of 29,000.

On pay, wages and salaries rose 3.1% in the 12 months to September, while consumer prices rose 3.7% over the same period.

Jobless claims remain below last year's level

The 189,000 figure is an advance, seasonally adjusted estimate. The comparable figure a year earlier was 228,000. The four-week average was 194,750, against 225,500 a year before.

Insured unemployment, the number of people counted as claiming state benefits, was 1,718,000 in the week ended October 24. That was up 23,000 from the week before and down from 1,962,000 a year earlier, and the rate was 1.1%, against 1.3%. In the week ended October 17, the highest state rates were in New Jersey (2.0%), Washington (1.8%), and California and Massachusetts (1.7% each).

What comes next

BLS scheduled its October jobs report for November 6 at 8:30 a.m. Eastern. This story was checked on November 5, so its unemployment and payroll figures come from the September report. The next job openings report, covering October, is due December 1 at 10 a.m. Eastern. September's job openings figures are preliminary and can be revised, as August's were.